Information processing apparatus, information providing method, and information providing system

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus uses a display device to provide display information. The information processing apparatus includes processing circuitry configured to store information relating to a position of an output device that outputs information relating to the output device, and information relating to the display device corresponding to the position of the output device; receive information of a transmission source and the information of the output device acquired by the transmission source, from the transmission source capable of communicating with the information processing apparatus; identify a position of the transmission source, based on the received information; and control the display device corresponding to the position of the transmission source to display the display information, according to the information of the transmission source.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/200,278, filed on Jul. 1, 2016, which is based on Japanese PatentApplication No. 2015-135321, filed on Jul. 6, 2015, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to information processing apparatuses,information providing methods, and information providing systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

There is known a typical digital signage panel for providing displayinformation such as an advertisement, etc., to a plurality of users, atvarious locations such as outdoors, at the storefront, in a publicspace, and in public transportation, etc., by using a display devicesuch as a projector and a display, etc.

Furthermore, there is known an evacuation guidance system, which deducesthe direction in which the disaster is expanding and the evacuationroute, based on output from a disaster-prevention reception panel and aperson position detector. The disaster-prevention reception panel is forrecognizing the type and location of the disaster that has occurred. Theperson position detector is for detecting a position of a plurality ofpersons. The evacuation guidance system displays a guidance route on adisplay device based on the deduced information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure provides an information processing apparatus, aninformation providing method, and an information providing system, inwhich one or more of the above-described disadvantages are eliminated.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus for using a display device to providedisplay information, the information processing apparatus includingprocessing circuitry configured to store information relating to aposition of an output device that outputs information relating to theoutput device, and information relating to the display devicecorresponding to the position of the output device; receive informationof a transmission source and the information of the output deviceacquired by the transmission source, from the transmission sourcecapable of communicating with the information processing apparatus;identify a position of the transmission source, based on the receivedinformation; and control the display device corresponding to theposition of the transmission source to display the display information,according to the information of the transmission source.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of aninformation providing system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a management server according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an output device according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a gateway according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of an information terminal according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of a display device according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of theinformation providing system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 8A through 8C are diagrams illustrating examples of informationstored by a position information managing unit according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information identified bya position information identifying unit according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of registrationinformation and correspondence information according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating other examples of theregistration information and the correspondence information according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram of an example of a process performed bythe information providing system according to a first embedment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of another example of a process performedby the information providing system according to the first embedment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of a displaycontrol unit of the management server according to a second embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of the managementserver according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 16A and 16B are diagrams illustrating examples of a display ratioof display information and display information according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of the displaycontrol unit of the management server according to a third embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of the managementserver according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a priority ranking ofdisplay information according to the third embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of theinformation providing system according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the display device according to the fourth embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams illustrating examples of informationstored by the position information managing unit according to the fourthembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram of an example of a process performed bythe information providing system according to the fourth embedment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating another example of arrangements ofdisplay devices according to the fourth embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of theinformation providing system according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIGS. 26A through 26C are diagrams illustrating examples of stateinformation and correspondence information according to the fifthembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram of an example of a process performed bythe information providing system according to the fifth embedment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A problem to be solved by an embodiment of the present disclosure is toprovide an information providing system that uses a display device toprovide display information to a plurality of users, and thatfacilitates the operation of providing the display information accordingto the respective users.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings.

<System Configuration>

First, a description is given of an example of a configuration of aninformation providing system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of aninformation providing system according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. An information providing system 100 includes a managementserver 101, a plurality of output devices 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c, agateway 103, an information terminal 104, and a plurality of displaydevices 105 a, 105 b, and 105 c, etc. Note that in the followingdescription, “output device 102” is used for referring to any one of theplurality of output devices 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c. Furthermore,“display device 105” is used for referring to any one of the pluralityof display devices 105 a, 105 b, and 105 c. Note that the numbers of theoutput devices 102, the gateway 103, the information terminal 104, andthe display devices 105, etc., are merely examples.

The plurality of output devices 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c are installed atdifferent positions from each other, for example, on the ceiling, etc.,of a building 107. The plurality of output devices 102 a, 102 b, and 102c respectively output signals including information of the own device,i.e., the output device 102 itself (for example, identificationinformation and position information, etc., of the own device), to anarea corresponding to the own device. In the example of FIG. 1, theoutput device 102 a outputs acoustic waves including an output device ID“SP0001”, which is identification information of the own device, to anarea A. Furthermore, the output device 102 b outputs acoustic wavesincluding an output device ID “SP0002” of the own device to an area B.Similarly, the output device 102 c outputs acoustic waves including anoutput device ID “SP0003” of the own device to an area C.

Furthermore, the output device 102 can connect to a wireless networkprovided by the gateway 103 and communicate with the management server101 via the gateway 103. The output device 102 may output an outputdevice ID specified by the management server 101, or may output anoutput device ID that is stored by the output device 102 in advance.

The gateway 103 is connected to the management server 101 via a network108 such as the Internet and LAN (Local Area Network), etc., and forms awireless network together with the output devices 102. The gateway 103transfers data between the output devices 102 connected to a wirelessnetwork provided by the gateway 103 and the management server 101.

The information terminal 104 is an information terminal such as asmartphone, a mobile phone, and a tablet terminal, etc., held by theuser, and can connect to the network 108 and communicate with themanagement server 101 by wireless communication. Furthermore, theinformation terminal 104 executes an application program (hereinafterreferred to as “application”) for the information terminal 104corresponding to the information providing system 100.

The information terminal 104 executes an application for the informationterminal 104 to acquire acoustic waves output by the output device 102with the use of a built-in microphone, etc., and extract information ofthe own device of the output device 102 (for example, an output deviceID) included in the acquired acoustic waves. Furthermore, theapplication of the information terminal 104 includes identificationinformation (hereinafter referred to as “application ID”) unique to eachapplication installed in the information terminal 104. When theinformation terminal 104 executes the application and extracts theinformation of the own device of the output device 102, the informationterminal 104 sends the extracted information of the own device of theoutput device 102 and transmission source information including theapplication ID of the information terminal 104 itself, to the managementserver 101.

Note that the application ID is an example of identification informationfor identifying the user, the information terminal 104, or theapplication operating in the information terminal 104. By using anapplication ID, the information providing system 100 is able to identifythe information terminal 104 and the application, without depending onpersonal information such as a phone number and a mail address, etc.However, the above configuration is merely an example; for example, theinformation terminal 104 may use identification information of theinformation terminal or identification information of the user, etc.,instead of the application ID.

The management server 101 is an information processing apparatus such asa Personal Computer (PC), etc., connected to the network 108, andexecutes an application for the management server 101 corresponding tothe information providing system 100. Note that the management server101 may be formed by a plurality of information processing apparatuses.The management server 101 stores position information of the outputdevice 102 including information of the location where each outputdevice 102 is installed, etc., and can identify the position of theinformation terminal 104 based on the transmission source informationacquired from the information terminal 104.

Furthermore, the management server 101 stores position information ofthe display device 105 including information of the location where thedisplay device 105 is installed and registration informationcorresponding to the application ID, and causes the display device 105corresponding to the position where the information terminal 104 isdetected, to display the display information corresponding to theapplication ID.

The display device 105 is, for example, a projector or a display, etc.,and displays display information instructed by the management server101. For example, the display device 105 is connected to the network 108via a wireless/wired LAN, etc., and displays display information inresponse to a request to display the display information received fromthe management server 101.

Note that the arrangement of the display device 105 and the number ofdisplay devices 105, etc., in FIG. 1 are merely examples. For example,in the example of FIG. 1, the display devices 105 are arranged along asingle wall; however, the display devices 105 may be installed in anydirection. Furthermore, a plurality of the display devices 105 may beinstalled in a single area, or there may be an area where no displaydevices 105 are installed.

In the above configuration, for example, when the management server 101detects the information terminal 104 in an area B corresponding to theoutput device 102 b, the management server 101 causes the display device105 b installed in the area B to display the display informationcorresponding to the application ID of the information terminal 104.Furthermore, for example, in FIG. 1, when a user 106 moves through theareas in the order of the area C, the area B, and the area A, theinformation corresponding to the application ID of the informationterminal 104 is sequentially displayed on display devices in the orderof the display device 105 c, the display device 105 b, and the displaydevice 105 a, in line with the positions of the information terminal104.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in theinformation providing system 100 providing information to a plurality ofusers by using the display devices 105, an information processingapparatus (management server 101), which facilitates the operation ofproviding display information according to the respective users 106, canbe provided.

<Hardware Configuration>

Next, a description is given of hardware configurations of the devicesincluded in the information providing system 100.

(Hardware Configuration of Management Server)

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the management server 101 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The management server 101 has a configuration ofa general-purpose computer. The management server 101 includes, forexample, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 201, a Random Access Memory(RAM) 202, a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 203, a storage unit 204, an externalinterface (I/F) unit 205, an inputting unit 206, a display unit 207, anetwork I/F unit 208, and a bus 209, etc.

The CPU 201 (example of processing circuitry) is an arithmetic devicefor implementing various functions of the management server 101, byloading the programs and data stored in the ROM 203 and the storage unit204, etc., into the RAM 202, and executing processes. The RAM 202 is avolatile memory used as a work area, etc., of the CPU 201. The ROM 203is a non-volatile memory for holding programs and data even after thepower is turned off.

The storage unit 204 is a storage device such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)and a Solid State Drive (SSD), etc., and stores an Operating System(OS), an application program, and various kinds of data, etc.

The external I/F unit 205 is an interface between the management server101 and an external device. The external device includes, for example, arecording medium 210. The management server 101 is able to read and/orwrite data from/in the recording medium 210, via the external I/F unit205. For example, the recording medium 210 includes an optical disk, amagnetic disk, a memory card, and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory,etc. Furthermore, a predetermined program may be stored in the recordingmedium 210, and by installing the program stored in the recording medium210 in the management server 101 via the external I/F unit 205, themanagement server 101 is able to execute a predetermined program.

The inputting unit 206 is an input device including a pointing devicesuch as a mouse and a keyboard, etc., and is used for inputting variousoperation signals in the management server 101. The display unit 207 isa display device such as a display, etc., for displaying processingresults, etc., obtained by the management server 101.

The network I/F unit 208 is a communication interface such as awired/wireless LAN, etc., for connecting the management server 101 tothe network 108. The management server 101 is able to perform datacommunication with another device via the network I/F unit 208 and thenetwork 108. The bus 209 is connected to the above elements, andtransmits address signals, data signals, and various control signals,etc.

(Hardware Configuration of Output Device)

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the output device 102 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The output device 102 includes, for example, a CPU301, a RAM 302, a flash ROM 303, a wireless communicating unit 304, anacoustic wave control unit 305, an acoustic wave outputting unit 306, asensor unit 307, and a bus 308, etc.

The CPU 301 (example of processing circuitry) is an arithmetic devicefor implementing various functions of the output device 102, byexecuting programs stored in the flash ROM 303, etc. The RAM 302 is avolatile memory used as a work area, etc., of the CPU 301. The flash ROM303 is a non-volatile memory for storing programs for the output device102, and unique information such as an output device ID, etc.

The wireless communicating unit 304 includes a transmission/receptioncircuit and an antenna, etc., for performing wireless communication withthe gateway 103. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that thewireless communicating unit 304 performs communication with the gateway103 by using, for example, wireless LAN, Zigbee (registered trademark),or a specific power saving wireless communication method (IEEE802.15.4g)of a 920 MHz band, etc.

The acoustic wave control unit 305 converts the information such as anoutput device ID, etc., stored in the flash ROM 303, etc., into acousticwave signals, and outputs the acoustic wave signals to the acoustic waveoutputting unit 306.

Preferably, the acoustic wave control unit 305 implements control tooutput information such as an output device ID, etc., by using a highfrequency of for example, higher than or equal to 16 kHz, among thevoice sound frequency bands. The directivity of acoustic waves becomeshigher as the frequency increases. A frequency of higher than or equalto 16 kHz can hardly be heard by a human being. Therefore, a frequencyof higher than or equal to 16 kHz is appropriate for sending informationsuch as an output device ID.

Note that in the present embodiment, the specific method of transferringdata by acoustic waves is not particularly limited; however, forexample, the information may be transmitted by performing a knownmodulation method such as Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) and Phase ShiftKeying (PSK), etc., on acoustic waves of a predetermined frequency.

Alternatively, the method of transferring data by acoustic waves may befor expressing digital values “1”/“0”, by turning on/off the signals ofa predetermined frequency (for example, 19 kHz). In this case, theinformation terminal 104 that receives the acoustic waves may acquireinformation included in the acoustic waves, for example, by determiningwhether there is a frequency that is defined in advance by apredetermined sampling rate.

The acoustic wave outputting unit 306 includes, for example, anelectroacoustic transducer such as a speaker, etc., which converts theacoustic wave signals input from the acoustic wave control unit 305 intoacoustic waves and outputs the acoustic waves.

The sensor unit 307 includes a detection device such as a temperaturesensor, an illuminance sensor, a human detection sensor, a camerasensor, and a sound sensor (microphone), etc. It is assumed that thesensor unit 307 includes a detection device selected according to demandof the system, among these detection devices.

The bus 308 is connected to the above elements, and transmits addresssignals, data signals, and various control signals, etc.

(Hardware Configuration of Gateway)

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the gateway 103 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The gateway 103 includes, for example, a CPU 401, aRAM 402, a ROM 403, a wireless communicating unit 404, a network I/Funit 405, and a bus 406.

The CPU 401 (example of processing circuitry) is an arithmetic devicefor implementing various functions of the gateway 103, by executingprograms stored in the ROM 403, etc. The RAM 402 is a volatile memoryused as a work area, etc., of the CPU 401. The ROM 403 is a non-volatilememory for storing programs for the gateway 103. The ROM 403 may be arewritable volatile memory, such as a flash ROM and an EEPROM, etc.

The wireless communicating unit 404 includes a wireless circuit and anantenna, etc., for performing wireless communication by the samewireless communication method as the wireless communication method ofthe wireless communicating unit 304 of the output device 102 describedabove.

The network I/F unit 405 is a communication interface such as awired/wireless LAN, etc., for connecting the gateway 103 to the network108.

The bus 406 is connected to the above elements, and transmits addresssignals, data signals, and various control signals, etc.

(Hardware Configuration of Information Terminal)

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the information terminal 104 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. The information terminal 104 has aconfiguration of a general-purpose computer, and includes, for example,a CPU 501, a RAM 502, a ROM 503, a storage unit 504, a communication I/Funit 505, an external I/F unit 506, a microphone unit 507, a speakerunit 508, a display inputting unit 509, and a bus 510, etc.

The CPU 501 (example of processing circuitry) is an arithmetic devicefor implementing various functions of the information terminal 104, byloading the programs and data stored in the ROM 503 and the storage unit504, etc., into the RAM 502, and executing processes. The RAM 502 is avolatile memory used as a work area, etc., of the CPU 501. The ROM 503is a non-volatile memory for holding programs and data even after thepower is turned off.

The storage unit 504 is a storage device such as a HDD, a SSD, and aflash ROM, etc., and stores an OS, an application program, and variouskinds of data, etc.

The communication I/F unit 505 is a communication interfacecorresponding to a communication method such as a mobile communicationnetwork including 3rd Generation (3G) and Long Term Evolution (LTE),etc., and a wireless LAN, etc. The information terminal 104 performsdata communication with the management server 101, etc., by connectingto the network 108, via the communication I/F unit 505.

The external I/F unit 506 is an interface between the informationterminal 104 and an external device. The external device includes, forexample, a recording medium. The information terminal 104 is able toread and/or write data from/in the recording medium, via the externalI/F unit 506. For example, the recording medium includes a memory cardand a USB memory, etc.

The microphone unit 507 includes a sound collecting element such as amicrophone, etc. The microphone unit 507 converts the acoustic wavesacquired by the microphone, etc., into electric signals, and furtherconverts the electric signals into acoustic wave data having apredetermined format. Microphones provided in smartphones, etc., ofrecent years are capable of collecting acoustic waves of 20 kHz, and upto approximately 24 kHz in a more preferable example. Therefore, themicrophone unit 507 the is able to appropriately acquire informationconverted into a high frequency of, for example, higher than or equal to16 kHz, included in acoustic waves output from the output device 102.

The speaker unit 508 includes a voice sound output element such as aspeaker, etc. The speaker unit 508 converts voice sound data into voicesound signals, and further converts the voice sound signals intoacoustic waves by the speaker, etc., and outputs the acoustic waves.

The display inputting unit 509 includes, for example, a display elementsuch as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), etc., and an element used forinput such as a touch panel, etc., and accepts input operations by auser and displays a display screen by a program executed by theinformation terminal 104.

The bus 510 is connected to the above elements, and transmits addresssignals, data signals, and various control signals, etc.

Note that the information terminal 104 is able to execute applications,by installing, in the information terminal 104, programs stored in arecording medium connected to the external I/F unit 506 and applicationsdownloaded via the communication I/F unit 505.

(Hardware Configuration of Display Device)

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the display device 105 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. The display device 105 includes, for example, aCPU 601, a RAM 602, a ROM 603, a network I/F unit 605, a display unit606, and a bus 607. Furthermore, the display device 105 may also includea storage unit 604.

The CPU 601 (example of processing circuitry) is an arithmetic devicefor implementing various functions of the display device 105, byexecuting programs stored in the ROM 603, etc. The RAM 602 is a volatilememory used as a work area, etc., of the CPU 601. The ROM 603 is anon-volatile memory for storing programs for the display device 105. TheROM 603 may be a rewritable volatile memory, such as a flash ROM and anEEPROM, etc.

The storage unit 604 is a storage device such as a HDD, a SSD, and aflash ROM, etc., and stores, for example, a plurality of content dataitems (display images, etc.) to be displayed by the display unit 606.

The network I/F unit 605 is a communication interface such as awired/wireless LAN, etc., for connecting the display device 105 to thenetwork 108.

The display unit 606 is a display device for displaying images. Forexample, when the display device 105 is a display, the display unit 606includes a display element such as a LCD panel, etc., and a backlight,etc. Furthermore, when the display device 105 is a projector, thedisplay device 105 includes a light source, a display element, and aprojection lens, etc., for projecting images.

The bus 607 is connected to the above elements, and transmits addresssignals, data signals, and various control signals, etc.

<Functional Configuration>

Next, a description is given of a functional configuration of theinformation providing system 100.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of theinformation providing system 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In FIG. 7, the information providing system 100includes the management server 101, the output device 102, the gateway103, the information terminal 104, and the display device 105, etc.

Furthermore, the information providing system 100 according to thepresent embodiment causes the display device 105 to display displayinformation, for example, by using a plurality of display informationitems (content data) stored in advance. The plurality of displayinformation items may be stored in advance by the management server 101,or may be acquired from an external content server 750, etc.Furthermore, as another example, the plurality of display informationitems may be stored in advance by the display device 105, etc.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example where the information providing system 100acquires display information from the external content server 750.

(Functional Configuration of Management Server)

The management server 101 (information processing apparatus) 101includes a communicating unit 701, a position information managing unit702, a registration information managing unit 703, a correspondenceinformation managing unit 704, a position information identifying unit705, a display control unit 706, a display information acquiring unit707, and a storage unit 708, etc.

The communicating unit 701 connects the management server 101 to thenetwork 108, and communicates with the gateway 103, the informationterminal 104, and the display device 105, etc. For example, thecommunicating unit 701 functions as a receiving unit for receivingtransmission source information, etc., including information of thetransmission source and information of the output device 102 acquired bythe transmission source, from the transmission source capable ofcommunicating with the management server 101. Furthermore, thecommunicating unit 701 functions as a sending unit for sending a displayrequest, etc., by which the display control unit 706 of the managementserver 101 requests the display device 105 to display displayinformation. Furthermore, the communicating unit 701 sends and receivesvarious kinds of data with, for example, the output device 102 and thecontent server 750, etc. Note that the communicating unit 701 isrealized by, for example, the network I/F unit 208 of FIG. 2 andprograms, etc., operating in the CPU 201 of FIG. 2.

The position information managing unit 702 acquires information of thetransmission source (application ID, etc.) and information of the outputdevice 102 acquired by the transmission source, from the transmissionsource (the information terminal 104 or an application operating in theinformation terminal 104) capable of communicating with the managementserver 101, via the communicating unit 701. Note that the information ofthe output device 102 acquired by the transmission source includes, forexample, an output device ID that is identification information of theoutput device 102 and position information indicating the location wherethe output device 102 is installed, etc. Here, in the followingdescription, it is assumed that the information of the output device 102includes an output device ID of the output device 102.

Furthermore, the position information managing unit 702 stores positioninformation 709 stored in the storage unit 708. The position informationmanaging unit 702 is realized by, for example, programs, etc., operatingin the CPU 201 of FIG. 2.

The position information identifying unit 705 identifies the position ofthe transmission source, based on information received from thetransmission source by the position information managing unit 702, andposition information 709 stored by the position information managingunit 702. The position information identifying unit 705 is realized by,for example, programs, etc., operating in the CPU 201 of FIG. 2.

Here, a description is given of examples of information (positioninformation 709) stored by the position information managing unit 702,and information identified by the position information identifying unit705.

FIGS. 8A through 8C are diagrams illustrating examples of informationstored by the position information managing unit 702 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8A illustrates an example of position information 801 of outputdevices. The position information 801 stores output device IDs of aplurality of output devices 102 and information indicating the positionswhere the plurality of output devices 102 are installed, in associationwith each other.

FIG. 8B illustrates an example of position information 802 of displaydevices. The position information 802 stores information of displaydevices corresponding to the respective positions where the plurality ofoutput devices 102 are installed. In the example of FIG. 8B, as anexample of the information of display devices, a display device ID foridentifying the display device 105 and an IP address, which is anexample of address information of the display device 105, are stored.

Preferably, the position information managing unit 702 storesarrangement information as illustrated in FIG. 8C. In the example ofFIG. 8C, the arrangement information includes information of the floorlayout of a building 107, etc., the positions where the output devices102 are installed (spot 1, spot 2, and so on), the positions where thedisplay devices 105 are arranged, and display device IDs, etc.

Note that spot 1, spot 2, and so on are an example of informationindicating the positions where the output devices 102 are installed. Theinformation indicating the positions where the output devices 102 areinstalled may be, for example, information of areas corresponding to theoutput devices 102 (for example, an area A and an area B in FIG. 1,etc.), or coordinate information (for example, latitude and longitude)in a predetermined coordinate system, etc.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of information identified bythe position information identifying unit 705 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure. The “identification information oftransmission source” is information (application ID, etc.) of thetransmission source received from the transmission source by theposition information managing unit 702. The “output device ID” is theoutput device ID included in the information of the output devicereceived from the transmission source by the position informationmanaging unit 702. The “acquisition time and date” is information of thetime and date at which the position information managing unit 702 hasreceived the “identification information of transmission source” and the“output device ID”.

The “position” is information indicating the position of thetransmission source identified based on the position information of theoutput device illustrated in FIG. 8A and the “output device ID”. Forexample, the transmission source corresponding to the identificationinformation of transmission source “AP0002” in FIG. 9 has acquired anoutput device ID “SP0002”. Therefore, the position informationidentifying unit 705 is able to determine that the transmission sourcecorresponding to the identification information of transmission source“AP0002” is near the “spot 2”, based on the position information of theoutput device of FIG. 8A.

The “display device ID” is the display device ID of the display device105 corresponding to the “position” described above. The positioninformation identifying unit 705 is able to identify that the displaydevice 105 corresponding to the display device ID “DP0001” is installedat the position “spot 2”, based on the position information of thedisplay device in FIG. 8B. Furthermore, the “IP address” is the IPaddress of the display device 105 corresponding to the “display deviceID” described above.

As described above, the position information identifying unit 705 isable to identify the position of the transmission source based on theinformation received by the position information managing unit 702 andthe position information 709 stored by the position information managingunit 702.

Here, referring back to FIG. 7, the description of the functionalconfiguration of the management server 101 is continued.

The registration information managing unit 703 is a unit for storingregistration information 710 corresponding to identification informationof the transmission source (application ID, etc.), and is realized by,for example, programs, etc., operating in the CPU 201 of FIG. 2. Notethat the registration information is described below with reference toFIGS. 10A through 11B.

The correspondence information managing unit 704 is a unit for storing,for example, correspondence information 711 for identifying the displayinformation (content data) corresponding to the information of thetransmission source, and is realized by, for example, programs, etc.,operating in the CPU 201 of FIG. 2.

Here, a description is given of the registration information 710 and thecorrespondence information 711.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of the registrationinformation 710 and the correspondence information 711 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. Note that in the presentembodiment, in the following description, it is assumed that theidentification information of the transmission source is the applicationID described above.

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of the registration information 710stored by the registration information managing unit 703. In the exampleof FIG. 10A, in the registration information 710, information items ofthe user, such as “user name”, “area of interest”, “gender”, and“inhabited area”, etc., are stored in association with the applicationID that is identification information 1001 of the transmission source.

In the example of FIG. 10A, when the user of the information terminal104 installs the application corresponding to the information providingsystem 100 in the information terminal 104 and activates theapplication, the application generates an application ID for uniquelyidentifying the user. The application is able to generate a uniqueapplication ID based on the International Mobile Equipment Identity(IMEI) and the phone number, etc., of the information terminal 104.

Furthermore, the user registers usage of the application when theapplication is activated for the first time, etc. At this time, forexample, it is assumed that the user registers information of the useras illustrated in FIG. 10A. The “user name” is name information such asthe registration name of the user, etc. The “area of interest” isinformation indicating the area that the user is interested in. The“gender” is information indicating the gender of the user. The“inhabited area” is information indicating the area in which the userlives. Note that the information of the user in FIG. 10A is merely oneexample.

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of the correspondence information 711stored by the correspondence information managing unit 704. In thecorrespondence information 711, information of the display information(content) to be provided to the transmission source is stored inassociation with the information of the transmission source, such as anapplication ID or registration information corresponding to theapplication ID (for example, “area of interest”). The correspondenceinformation 711 is assumed to be set in advance by, for example, theadministrator of the management server 101 or a service provider, etc.

In the example of FIG. 10B, in the correspondence information 711,information items such as “position”, “time”, “content name”, “contentID”, and “acquisition destination”, etc., are stored in association with“area of interest”, which is one of the registration information items.

The “position” is information used when providing different kinds ofdisplay information according to the position of the transmissionsource, and corresponds to the information of “position” in FIGS. 8A and8B.

The “time” is information used when providing display information thatchanges with time. The “content name” is information indicating the nameof the display information. The “content ID” is identificationinformation for uniquely identifying each display information item. The“acquisition destination” is information indicating the acquisitiondestination of the display information, such as a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL), etc.

In the registration information 710 of FIG. 10A, for example, the areaof interest of the transmission source having the identificationinformation (application ID) of “AP0001”, is “shopping”. For example,when this transmission source is at “spot 2” at the time “10:00”,“information of store 1” is displayed on the display device 105corresponding to spot 2, based on the correspondence information 711illustrated in FIG. 10B.

Furthermore, at the same time, when the transmission source having theidentification information of “AP0001” moves to “spot 3”, “informationof store 2” is displayed on the display device 105 corresponding to spot3, based on the correspondence information 711 illustrated in FIG. 10B.

Similarly, in the registration information 710 of FIG. 10A, for example,the area of interest of the transmission source having theidentification information (application ID) of “AP0002”, is “business”.When this transmission source is at any one of “spot 2”, “spot 3”, “spot4” “spot 6”, “spot 7”, and “spot 8” at the time “0:20”, “train operationinformation” is displayed on the display device 105 corresponding tospot where this transmission source is, based on the correspondenceinformation 711 illustrated in FIG. 10B. Furthermore, when the timepasses “0:30”, “accommodation information” is displayed on the displaydevice 105 corresponding to spot where this transmission source is,based on the correspondence information 711 illustrated in FIG. 10B.

Note that the correspondence information 711 of FIG. 10B is one example.For example, the correspondence information 711 may not necessarilyinclude the item of “position” or the item of “time”, etc. Furthermore,in the correspondence information 711, information items such as“position”, “time”, “content name”, “content ID”, and “acquisitiondestination”, etc., may be stored in association with “gender” or“inhabited area”, which are the registration information items, insteadof being stored in association with “area of interest”.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating other examples of theregistration information 710 and the correspondence information 711according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11A illustrates another example of the registration information 710stored by the registration information managing unit 703. In FIG. 11A,in the registration information 710, information of the application typeindicating the type of application is stored in association with theapplication ID that is identification information 1101 of thetransmission source.

In the example of FIG. 11A, it is assumed that the application operatingin the information terminal 104 used by the user has an application IDthat is common identification information with respect to each type ofapplication. Accordingly, the information providing system 100 is ableto identify the application type of the application operating in theinformation terminal 104, based on the application ID received from thetransmission source.

FIG. 11B illustrates another example of the correspondence information711 stored by the correspondence information managing unit 704. In thecorrespondence information 711, information of the display information(content) to be provided to the transmission source is stored inassociation with the application type corresponding to the informationof the transmission source (application ID). The correspondenceinformation 711 is assumed to be set in advance by, for example, theadministrator of the management server 101 or a service provider, etc.

In the registration information 710 of FIG. 11A, for example, theapplication type of the transmission source having the identificationinformation (application ID) of “AP0001”, is “map”. When thistransmission source is at “spot 4” at the time “9:00”, “bus stationinformation” is displayed on the display device 105 corresponding tospot 4, based on the correspondence information 711 illustrated in FIG.11B.

Furthermore, at the same time, when the transmission source having theidentification information of “AP0001” moves to “spot 3”, “floor guide”is displayed on the display device 105 corresponding to spot 3, based onthe correspondence information 711 illustrated in FIG. 11B.

As described above, the configurations of the registration information710 and the correspondence information 711 may have various applicationsand modifications.

Here, referring back to FIG. 7, the description of the functionalconfiguration of the management server 101 is continued.

The display information acquiring unit 707 (first acquiring unit)acquires display information to be displayed on the display device 105corresponding to the position of the transmission source, based on theinformation (information of transmission source and information of theoutput device 102 acquired by the transmission source) received by theposition information managing unit 702. The display informationacquiring unit 707 is realized by, for example, programs, etc.,operating in the CPU 201 of FIG. 2. The display information acquiringunit 707 identifies the display information corresponding to thetransmission source, based on the registration information 710 and thecorrespondence information 711 illustrated in FIGS. 10A through 11B andinformation received by the position information managing unit 702, etc.

For example, it is assumed that the information received by the positioninformation managing unit 702 at the time “10:00” includes theapplication ID “AP0001” of the transmission source and the output deviceID “SP0002” acquired by the transmission source. In this case, forexample, the display information acquiring unit 707 identifies that theapplication type of the transmission source is “map”, based on theregistration information 710 of FIG. 11A. Furthermore, for example, thedisplay information acquiring unit 707 identifies that the position ofthe transmission source is “spot 2”, based on the position informationof the output devices of FIG. 8A. Furthermore, for example, the displayinformation acquiring unit 707 identifies that the content ID of thedisplay information corresponding to the application type “map”, theposition “spot 2”, and the time “10:00” is “MID0001”, and that theacquisition destination of the display information is “URL21”, based onthe correspondence information 711 of FIG. 11B. Accordingly, the displayinformation acquiring unit 707 is able to acquire the displayinformation of the content ID “MID0001”, from the acquisitiondestination “URL21”.

The display control unit 706 is a unit for causing the display device105 corresponding to the position of the transmission source to displaythe display information acquired by the display information acquiringunit 707, and is realized by, for example, programs, etc., operating inthe CPU 201 of FIG. 2. For example, the display control unit 706acquires the IP address (example of address information) of the displaydevice 105 corresponding to the position of the transmission source,based on the information identified by the position informationidentifying unit 705 as illustrated in FIG. 9. Furthermore, the displaycontrol unit 706 sends a display request requesting to display thedisplay information acquired by the display information acquiring unit707, to the acquired IP address.

The storage unit 708 is a unit for storing information such as theposition information 709, the registration information 710, and thecorrespondence information 711, etc., and is realized by, for example,the storage unit 204 of FIG. 2 and programs, etc., operating in the CPU201 of FIG. 2. Furthermore, the storage unit 708 may store at least someof the plurality of display information items 712, in place of thecontent server 750.

(Functional Configuration of Output Device)

The output device 102 includes a wireless communicating unit 721, asignal outputting unit 722, and a device information storage unit 723.

The wireless communicating unit 721 is a unit for performing wirelesscommunication with the gateway 103, and is realized by, for example, thewireless communicating unit 304 of FIG. 3 and programs, etc., operatingin the CPU 301 of FIG. 3. The output device 102 is able to transmit andreceive data with the management server 101 via the gateway 103, by thewireless communicating unit 721.

The signal outputting unit 722 outputs signals including information ofthe output device 102 (for example, an output device ID and positioninformation of the output device, etc.). In the following description,it is assumed that in the present embodiment, the signal outputting unit722 outputs acoustic waves including an output device ID of the outputdevice 102. Note that the signal outputting unit 722 is realized by, forexample, the acoustic wave control unit 305 and the acoustic waveoutputting unit 306 of FIG. 3, and programs, etc., operating in the CPU301 of FIG. 3.

The device information storage unit 723 stores information such as anoutput device ID that is included in acoustic waves and output by thesignal outputting unit 722 and position information of the outputdevice. The device information storage unit 723 is realized by, forexample, the flash ROM 303, etc., of FIG. 3.

The information such as the output device ID, etc., stored by the deviceinformation storage unit 723 may be information that is stored in theoutput device 102 in advance, or information that is specified by themanagement server 101.

(Functional Configuration of Information Terminal)

The information terminal 104 includes a communicating unit 731, a signalacquiring unit 732, an information extracting unit 733, anidentification information sending unit 734, an identificationinformation storage unit 735, a display control unit 736, and anoperation accepting unit 737, etc.

The communicating unit 731 is a unit for connecting the informationterminal 104 to the network 108 and communicating with the managementserver 101, etc. The communicating unit 731 is realized by, for example,the communication I/F unit 505 of FIG. 5 and programs, etc., operatingin the CPU 501 of FIG. 5.

The signal acquiring unit 732 is a unit for acquiring acoustic waves(example of signals) output from the output device 102, and is realizedby, for example, the microphone unit 507 of FIG. 5 and programs, etc.,operating in the CPU 501 of FIG. 5.

The information extracting unit 733 is a unit for extracting informationincluded in acoustic waves acquired by the signal acquiring unit 732,and is realized by, for example, programs, etc., operating in the CPU501 of FIG. 5. For example, the information extracting unit 733 extractsan output device ID, etc., of the output device 102 included in theacoustic waves acquired by the signal acquiring unit 732.

The identification information sending unit 734 sends identificationinformation (application ID, etc.) of a transmission source stored inthe identification information storage unit 735 and output device ID ofthe output device 102 extracted by the information extracting unit 733,to the management server 101 via the communicating unit 731. Theidentification information sending unit 734 is realized by, for example,programs, etc., operating in the CPU 501 of FIG. 5.

The identification information storage unit 735 stores identificationinformation of a transmission source that is the information terminal104, such as an application ID. An application ID is identificationinformation of an application that is generated, for example, when theapplication is initially installed, etc., by the application for theinformation providing system 100 operating in the information terminal104. The application operating in the information terminal 104 generatesan application ID unique to each information terminal 104, based on, forexample, identification information of the information terminal 104 suchas unique information including an international mobile equipmentidentifier (IMEI), etc. Alternatively, the application operating in theinformation terminal 104 may generate an application ID by anothermethod.

Furthermore, in another example, the application ID is used asinformation indicating a common application type with respect to eachapplication. In this case, the application includes the application ID,and therefore the identification information storage unit 735 does nothave to store an application ID.

The display control unit 736 causes, for example, the display inputtingunit 509, etc., of FIG. 5 to display a display screen of an applicationoperating in the information terminal 104. The display control unit 736is realized by, for example, programs, etc., operating in the CPU 501 ofFIG. 5.

The operation accepting unit 737 accepts an input operation of a user tothe display inputting unit 509 of FIG. 5, for example. The operationaccepting unit 737 is realized by, for example, programs, etc.,operating in the CPU 501 of FIG. 5.

(Functional Configuration of Display Device)

The display device 105 includes, for example, a communicating unit 741,a display control unit 742, and a storage unit 743, etc.

The communicating unit 741 is a unit for connecting the display device105 to the network 108 and performing communication with the managementserver 101, etc. The communicating unit 741 is realized by, for example,the network I/F unit 605 of FIG. 6 and programs, etc., operating in theCPU 601 of FIG. 6.

The display control unit 742 causes the display unit 606, etc., of FIG.6, to display the display information, according to instructions by themanagement server 101. For example, when the display control unit 742receives a display request instructing to display the displayinformation from the management server 101 via the communicating unit741, the display control unit 742 causes the display unit 606, etc., todisplay the display information included in the display request.

Furthermore, in another example, the display device 105 may store aplurality of display information items in the storage unit 743. In thiscase, when the display control unit 742 receives a display request fromthe management server 101 via the communicating unit 741, the displaycontrol unit 742 reads the display information corresponding to thecontent ID included in the display request from the storage unit 743.Then, the display control unit 742 causes the display unit 606, etc., todisplay displays the read display information.

Furthermore, in yet another example, when the display control unit 742receives a display request from the management server 101 via thecommunicating unit 741, the display control unit 742 may acquire displayinformation corresponding to the content ID included in the displayrequest, from the content server 750, etc.

(Functional Configuration of Content Server)

The content server 750 is an example of a unit for storing a pluralityof display information items, and includes, for example, a communicatingunit 751, an information providing unit 752, and a display informationstorage unit 753, etc. The content server 750 may be a server deviceincluded in the information providing system 100, a server deviceoutside the information providing system 100, or a server deviceprovided by a cloud service, etc.

The communicating unit 751 is a unit for connecting the content server750 to the network 108, and communicating with the management server101, etc. The communicating unit 751 is realized by, for example, thenetwork I/F unit 208 of FIG. 2 and programs, etc., operating in the CPU201 of FIG. 2.

The information providing unit 752 manages a plurality of displayinformation items (contents) in the display information storage unit 753in association with a content ID that is identification information ofeach of the display information items. Furthermore, for example, theinformation providing unit 752 provides (sends) display informationcorresponding to the requested content ID to a request source, inresponse to a request to acquire display information from the requestsource such as the management server 101, etc. For example, theinformation providing unit 752 is realized by, for example, programs,etc., operating in the CPU 201 of FIG. 2.

The display information storage unit 753 is a unit for storing aplurality of display information items managed by the informationproviding unit 752, and the display information 753 is realized by, forexample, the storage unit 204 of FIG. 2, etc.

<Process Flow>

Next, a description is given of flows of specific processes performed bythe information providing system 100.

First Embodiment

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram of an example of a process performed bythe information providing system 100 according to a first embedment ofthe present disclosure. Here, the following description is givenassuming that the user 106 and the information terminal 104 of the userare in the area A in the system configuration of FIG. 1.

In step S1201, the output device 102 a outputs acoustic waves includingan output device ID “SP0001” of the own device. Note that it is assumedthat the output device 102 a is continuously outputting acoustic wavesincluding the output device ID of the own device.

In step S1202, the information extracting unit 733 of the informationterminal 104 extracts the output device ID of the output device 102 aincluded in the acoustic waves acquired by the signal acquiring unit732.

In step S1203, the identification information sending unit 734 of theinformation terminal 104 sends information of the transmission source tothe management server 101. The information of the transmission sourceincludes the output device ID of the output device 102 a extracted bythe information extracting unit 733 and an application ID stored in theidentification information storage unit 735. Note that the output deviceID of the output device 102 a is an example of information of the outputdevice 102 acquired by the transmission source. Furthermore, theapplication ID stored in the identification information storage unit 735is an example of information of the transmission source.

In step S1204, the communicating unit 701 of the management server 101receives the information sent from the transmission source (theinformation terminal 104 or an application operating in the informationterminal 104), and the position information managing unit 705 identifiesthe position of the transmission source based on the receivedinformation. The position information identifying unit 705 identifiesinformation such as “position”, “display device ID”, and “IP address”,etc., in FIG. 9, based on the information received from the transmissionsource.

In step S1205, the display information acquiring unit 707 of themanagement server 101 selects display information corresponding to theinformation of the transmission source. For example, the displayinformation acquiring unit 707 uses the information received by theposition information managing unit 702 and the registration informationand correspondence information illustrated in FIGS. 10A through 11B, toidentify information such as the content ID corresponding to thetransmission source and the URL of the acquisition destination, etc.

In step S1206, the display information acquiring unit 707 of themanagement server 101 sends a request to acquire display information to,for example, the content server 750. The request to acquire displayinformation includes the content ID that is the identificationinformation for identifying the display information (content).

In step S1207, the display information acquiring unit 707 of themanagement server 101 acquires the display information sent from thecontent server 750.

In step S1208, the display control unit 706 of the management server 101sends a display request requesting to display the display informationacquired by the display information acquiring unit 707, to the displaydevice 105 a corresponding to the position of the transmission sourceidentified in step S1204. The display request includes, for example, theaddress information (IP address, etc.) of the display device 105 a andthe display information.

In step S1209, the display control unit 742 of the display device 105 acauses the display unit 606, etc., to display the display informationincluded in the display request received from the management server 101via the communicating unit 741.

By the above process, when the user 106 holding the information terminal104 enters the area A of FIG. 1, the display information (content)corresponding to the transmission source (user 106, information terminal104, or application, etc.) is displayed on the display device 105 a.Similarly, when the user 106 holding the information terminal 104 entersthe area B of FIG. 1, the display information corresponding to thetransmission source is displayed on the display device 105 b. Similarly,when the user 106 holding the information terminal 104 enters the area Cof FIG. 1, the display information corresponding to the transmissionsource is displayed on the display device 105 c.

Note that in the process illustrated in FIG. 12, a description is givenof an example in which the management server 101 acquires the displayinformation from the content server 750; however, the process is merelyone example. The management server 101 may use other procedures as longas the display information corresponding to the transmission source isdisplayed on the display device 105 corresponding to the position of thetransmission source.

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of another example of a process performedby the information providing system 100 according to the first embedmentof the present disclosure. Note that the processes of steps S1201through S1205 are the same as the processes in FIG. 12, and thereforethe processes that are different from the processes of FIG. 12 aremainly described.

In step S1301, the display control unit 706 of the management server 101sends the display request requesting to display the display informationidentified in step S1205, to the display device 105 a corresponding tothe position of the transmission source. The display request includes,for example, address information of the display device 105 a (IPaddress, etc.) and a content ID, etc., for uniquely identifying thedisplay information.

In step S1302, the display control unit 742 of the display device 105 areads the display information corresponding to the content ID includedin the display request received from the management server 101. Here,for example, a plurality of display information items may be stored inthe storage unit 743 of the display device 105 a, or may be stored in astorage server, etc., that can be used from a plurality of displaydevices 105. Alternatively, the display device 105 a may include afunction corresponding to the display information acquiring unit 707 ofthe management server 101, and may acquire display informationcorresponding to the content ID from the content server 750.

In step S1303, the display control unit 736 of the display device 105 acauses, for example, the display unit 606, etc., to display the displayinformation acquired in step S1302.

As described above, the information providing system 100 according tothe present embodiment may have various system configurations.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, a description is given of an example of adisplay method of display information, in a case where there are aplurality of transmission sources corresponding to a single displaydevice 105.

<Functional Configuration>

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of the displaycontrol unit 706 of the management server 101 according to the secondembodiment of the present disclosure. The display control unit 706according to the second embodiment includes a display ratio determiningunit 1401, a display information creating unit 1402, and a displayrequesting unit 1403, etc.

The display ratio determining unit 1401 determines a display ratio ofthe display information corresponding to each transmission source, forexample, when a plurality of transmission sources are detected in thearea B in FIG. 1. Note that the display ratio of the display informationis described below.

The display information creating unit 1402 creates display informationbased on the display ratio determined by the display ratio determiningunit 1401. In the present embodiment, as described below, a plurality ofdisplay information items corresponding to a plurality of transmissionsources are displayed in divided areas on a single display device 105.The display information creating unit 1402 creates, for example, displayinformation for dividing and displaying the display information.

The display requesting unit 1403 sends a display request including thedisplay information created by the display information creating unit1402 to the display device 105, to cause the display device 105 todisplay the display information.

<Process Flow>

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of the managementserver 101 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.Note that the basic operations of the respective units of the managementserver 101 are the same as the operations of the first embodiment, andtherefore the operations that are different from the operations of thefirst embodiment are mainly described.

In step S1501, the position information managing unit 702 of themanagement server 101 receives information (the application ID oftransmission source and the output device ID acquired by thetransmission source, etc.) sent from the transmission source.

In step S1502, the position information managing unit 702 repeats theprocess of step S1501 until a predetermined time (for example, 10seconds) passes. Furthermore, when the predetermined time passes, theposition information managing unit 702 shifts the process to step S1503.

In step S1503, the position information identifying unit 705 of themanagement server 101 identifies the position of the transmissionsource. Note that in the processes of steps S1501 and S1502, wheninformation is received from a plurality of transmission sources, theposition information identifying unit 705 identifies the respectivepositions of the plurality of transmission sources.

In step S1504, the display information acquiring unit 707 of themanagement server 101 acquires the display information corresponding tothe transmission source. Note that when there are a plurality of displayinformation items corresponding to the transmission source, the displayinformation acquiring unit 707 acquires a plurality of displayinformation items.

In step S1505, the management server 101 determines whether there are aplurality of display information items corresponding to a single displaydevice 105. When there are no plural display information itemscorresponding to a single display device 105, the management server 101shifts the process to step S1508. On the other hand, when there are aplurality of display information items corresponding to a single displaydevice 105, the management server 101 shifts the process to step S1506.

When the process shifts to step S1506, the display ratio determiningunit 1401 of the management server 101 determines the display ratio ofeach display screen.

In step S1507, the display information creating unit 1402 of themanagement server 101 creates a display screen to be displayed on thedisplay device 105, based on the display ratio determined by the displayratio determining unit 1401.

In step S1508, the display requesting unit 1403 of the management server101 sends a display request requesting to display the displayinformation on the display device 105.

(Examples of Display Ratio and Display Information)

FIG. 16A is a diagram illustrating an example of a display ratiodetermined by the display ratio determining unit 1401 in step S1506 ofFIG. 15.

The example of FIG. 16A indicates information (content ID and contentname) relevant to a plurality of display information items to beprovided to a plurality of transmission sources detected at a position“spot 2”, and “number of transmission sources”, “priority ranking”, and“display ratio” corresponding to each of the display information items.

The “number of transmission sources” is the number of transmissionsources to which the display information is to be provided. The“priority ranking” is information indicating the priority level of eachdisplay information item. The smaller the value of the priority level,the higher the priority level of the display information. Note that thepriority level of each display information item is determined based onthe “number of transmission sources”. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 16A, the priority is sequentially assigned starting from thedisplay information having a large number of transmission sources.Furthermore, the display information may be controlled based on thenumber of transmission sources by setting a value to be a threshold “n”in advance, such as “determine that there are many transmission sourceswhen the number of transmission sources is higher than or equal to n”.

For example, to the transmission source using an application of anapplication type “news” at a time “10:00” at a position “spot 2”, thedisplay information having a content ID “NID0001” is provided, based onthe correspondence information of FIG. 11B. Furthermore, to thetransmission source using an application of an application type “map” ata time “10:00” at a position “spot 2”, the display information having acontent ID “MID0001” is provided, based on the correspondenceinformation of FIG. 11B. Similarly, to the transmission source using anapplication of an application type “weather” at a time “10:00” at aposition “spot 2”, the display information having a content ID “WID0001”is provided, based on the correspondence information of FIG. 11B.

The example of FIG. 16A indicates that at the position “spot 2”, “3” isthe number of transmission sources to which the content ID “NID0001” isprovided, “2” is the number of transmission sources to which the contentID “MID0001” is provided, and “1” is the number of transmission sourcesto which the content ID “WID0001” is provided. Furthermore, the displayratio determining unit 1401 determines 3/6 as the display ratio of thecontent ID “NID0001”, 2/6 as the display ratio of the content ID“MID0001”, and 1/6 as the display ratio of the content ID “WID0001”,based on the ratio of the “number of transmission sources”.

FIG. 16B is a diagram illustrating an example of display informationcreated in step S1507 of FIG. 15. In the example of FIG. 16B, displayinformation 1601 having the content ID “NID0001”, display information1602 having the content ID “MID0001”, and display information 1603having the content ID “WID0001” are arranged in display information 1600in divided areas.

In FIG. 16B, the display information 1601 having the content ID“NID0001” is displayed in a display area corresponding to a displayratio of 3/6, which is determined by the display ratio determining unit1401, among the entire display area of the display information 1600.Furthermore, the display information 1602 having the content ID“MID0001” is displayed in a display area corresponding to a displayratio of 2/6, which is determined by the display ratio determining unit1401. Similarly, the display information 1603 having the content ID“WID0001” is displayed in a display area corresponding to a displayratio of 1/6, which is determined by the display ratio determining unit1401. As described above, the display control unit 706 according to thepresent embodiment controls the sizes of the display areas fordisplaying the respective display information items, according to, forexample, “number of transmission sources” in FIG. 16A.

Note that the method of determining the display ratio in FIG. 16A andthe display information 1600 illustrated in FIG. 16B are merelyexamples.

As described above, the display control unit 706 according to thepresent embodiment controls the process of displaying the displayinformation, according to the priority level and the number oftransmission sources, etc., of the display information to be displayedon a single display device 105.

As described above, the information providing system 100 according tothe present embodiment is capable of displaying a display informationitem, which has a higher priority level than other display informationitems, with higher priority than the other display information items (bya larger size in the example of FIG. 16B), when a plurality oftransmission sources are detected to correspond to a single displaydevice 105.

Third Embodiment

In the second embodiment, a description is given of an example of a casewhere a display information item having a higher priority level thanother display information items, is displayed to have a larger size thanthe other display information items. In a third embodiment, adescription is given of an example of a case where a display informationitem having a higher priority level than other display informationitems, is displayed sooner than the other display information items.

<Functional Configuration>

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of the displaycontrol unit 706 of the management server 101 according to the thirdembodiment of the present disclosure. The display control unit 706according to the third embodiment includes a priority rankingdetermining unit 1701 and a display requesting unit 1702.

The priority ranking determining unit 1701 determines the priorityranking of the display information corresponding to each transmissionsource, for example, when a plurality of transmission sources aredetected in the area B of FIG. 1. Note that the priority ranking of thedisplay information is described below.

The display requesting unit 1702 sequentially requests the displaydevice 105 to display the display information, staring from the displayinformation having a high priority ranking determined by the priorityranking determining unit 1701.

<Process Flow>

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of the managementserver 101 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.Note that the processes of steps S1501 through S1505 of FIG. 18 are thesame as the processes of the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15,and therefore the processes that are different from the processes of thesecond embodiment are mainly described.

First, a description is given of a process in a case where it isdetermined that there are a plurality of display information itemscorresponding to a single display device 105 in step S1505.

In step S1801, the priority ranking determining unit 1701 of themanagement server 101 determines the priority ranking of each displayinformation item.

In step S1802, the display requesting unit 1702 of the management server101 sends a display request to display the display information havingthe highest priority ranking determined by the priority rankingdetermining unit 1701, among the display information items that are notsent, to the corresponding display device 105.

In step S1803, the display requesting unit 1702 determines whether thereis any display information that is not sent. When there is displayinformation that is not sent, in step S1804, the display requesting unit1702 waits for a predetermined display time (for example, five seconds),and then executes the process of step S1802. On the other hand whenthere is no display information that is not sent, the display requestingunit 1702 ends the process.

Note that the process of waiting for a predetermined display time instep S1804 is one example. For example, the display requesting unit 1702may include information of the display time in the display request andsend the display request to the display device 105. In this case, theprocess of step S1804 can be omitted.

Furthermore, in step S1505, when it is determined that there are noplural display information items corresponding to a single displaydevice 105, the display requesting unit 1702 sends a display requestrequesting to display the display information to the correspondingdisplay device 105 in step S1805.

(Example of Priority Ranking of Display Information)

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a priority rankingdetermined by the priority ranking determining unit 1701 in step S1801of FIG. 18.

The example of FIG. 19 indicates information (content ID and contentname) relevant to a plurality of display information items to beprovided to a plurality of transmission sources detected at a position“spot 2”, and “number of transmission sources”, “priority ranking”, and“display time” corresponding to each of the display information items.

The example of FIG. 19 indicates that at the position “spot 2”, “3” isthe number of transmission sources to which the content ID “NID0001” isprovided, “2” is the number of transmission sources to which the contentID “MID0001” is provided, and “1” is the number of transmission sourcesto which the content ID “WID0001” is provided. Furthermore, in theexample of FIG. 19, the priority ranking determining unit 1701determines “1” as the priority ranking of the content ID “NID0001”, “2”as the priority ranking of the content ID “MID0001”, and “3” as thepriority ranking of the content ID “WID0001”, in descending orderaccording to the “number of transmission sources”.

Furthermore, as indicated in the “display time” of FIG. 19, the priorityranking determining unit 1701 may determine the display time of eachdisplay information time based on the priority ranking, such asdetermining a longer display time as the priority ranking increases.Furthermore, when there is a large number of display information itemsto be displayed on a single display device 105, the priority rankingdetermining unit 1701 may set the “display time” of the displayinformation having a low priority ranking as “0”, and refrain fromrequesting to display the display information having a low priorityranking.

As described above, the display control unit 706 according to thepresent embodiment makes determinations based on the number oftransmission sources relevant to a plurality of display informationitems to be displayed on a single display device 105. The displaycontrol unit 706 controls the order of displaying the displayinformation and the time of displaying the display information, etc.,according to the number of transmission sources.

As described above, the information providing system 100 according tothe present embodiment is capable of sequentially displaying the displayinformation items starting from the display information with higherpriority (the display information corresponding to a large number oftransmission sources in the example of FIG. 19), when a plurality oftransmission sources are detected to correspond to a single displaydevice 105.

Fourth Embodiment

The output device 102 or the function of the output device 102 of FIG. 1may be included in the display device 105. In a fourth embodiment, adescription is given of an example of a case where the display device105 includes the output device 102 or the function of the output device102.

<System Configuration>

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of theinformation providing system 100 according to the fourth embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In FIG. 20, the display device 105 a includes anoutput device 2001 a for outputting the display device ID “DP0001” ofthe display device 105 a. Furthermore, the display device 105 b includesan output device 2001 b for outputting the display device ID “DP0002” ofthe display device 105 b. Similarly, the display device 105 c includesan output device 2001 c for outputting the display device ID “DP0003” ofthe display device 105 c. Note that in the following description,“output device 2001” is used for referring to any one of the outputdevices 2001 a through 2001 c.

For example, it is assumed that the output device 2001 a included in thedisplay device 105 a is outputting acoustic waves including the displaydevice ID of the display device 105 a, toward the front side (directionfrom which display screen can be seen) of the display device 105 a.Similarly, the output device 2001 b and the output device 2001 c areassumed to be outputting acoustic waves including the display device IDof the corresponding display device 105, toward the front side of thedisplay device 105.

<Hardware Configuration>

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the display device 105 according to the fourthembodiment of the present disclosure. The display device 105 accordingto the present embodiment includes the acoustic wave control unit 305and the acoustic wave outputting unit 306, in addition to theconfiguration of the display device 105 of FIG. 6.

The acoustic wave control unit 305 converts the information such as anoutput device ID, etc., stored in the flash ROM 303, into acoustic wavesignals, and outputs the acoustic wave signals to the acoustic waveoutputting unit 306.

The acoustic wave outputting unit 306 includes, for example, anelectroacoustic transducer such as a speaker, etc., that converts theacoustic wave signals input from the acoustic wave control unit 305 intoacoustic waves, and outputs the acoustic waves.

Note that the configuration other than the acoustic wave control unit305 and the acoustic wave outputting unit 306 is the same as theconfiguration of the display device 105 illustrated in FIG. 6.

<Functional Configuration>

The functional configuration of the management server 101 according tothe present embodiment is the same as the functional configuration ofthe management server 101 in the information providing system 100illustrated in FIG. 7. However, the output device 2001 outputs thedisplay device ID of the display device 105, and therefore theconfiguration of the position information 709 is partly different.

(Example of Position Information)

FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams illustrating examples of informationmanaged by the position information managing unit 702 according to thefourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22A is a diagram illustrating an example of position information ofthe display devices stored by the position information managing unit 702according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. In theexample of FIG. 22A, the position information of the display deviceincludes information of “display device ID”, “IP address”, and“position”.

The “display device ID” is an example of identification information foridentifying the display device 105. The “IP address” is an example ofaddress information indicating the address of the display device 105.The “position” is an example of information indicating the positionwhere the display device 105 is installed. Note that, for example, whenthe display device 105 is a movable display device, etc., the positioninformation of the display device does not have to include theinformation of “position”.

Preferably, the position information managing unit 702 storesarrangement information as illustrated in FIG. 22B. In the example ofthe FIG. 22B, the arrangement information includes the floor layout ofthe building 107, etc., the positions where the display devices 105 arearranged (spot 1, spot 2, and so on), and display device IDs, etc. Notethat, for example, when the display device 105 is a movable displaydevice, etc., the position information managing unit 702 does not haveto include the arrangement information.

<Process Flow>

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram of an example of a process performed bythe information providing system 100 according to the fourth embedmentof the present disclosure. Note that the basic process flow is the sameas the process flow according to the first embodiment illustrated inFIG. 12, and therefore the processes that are different from theprocesses of the first embodiment are mainly described. Furthermore, thefollowing description is given assuming that in the system configurationof FIG. 20, the user 106 and the information terminal 104 of the userare in the area B.

In step S2301, the display device 105 b (or the output device 2001 bincluded in the display device 105 b) outputs acoustic waves includingthe display device ID “DP0002” of the display device 105 b. Note thatthe display device 105 b (or the output device 2001 b) is assumed to becontinuously outputting acoustic waves including the display device IDof the display device 105 b.

In step S2302, the information extracting unit 733 of the informationterminal 104 extracts the display device ID of the display device 105 bincluded in the acoustic waves acquired by the signal acquiring unit732.

In step S2303, the identification information sending unit 734 of theinformation terminal 104 sends information of the transmission sourceincluding the display device ID of the display device 105 b extracted bythe information extracting unit 733 and the application ID stored in theidentification information storage unit 735, to the management server101. Note that the display device ID of the display device 105 b is anexample of information of the output device 2001 b acquired by thetransmission source. Furthermore, the application ID stored in theidentification information storage unit 735 is an example of informationof the transmission source.

In step S1204, the position information managing unit 702 of themanagement server 101 receives information sent from the informationterminal 104, and the position information identifying unit 705identifies the position of the transmission source based on theinformation received from the transmission source and the positioninformation of the display device indicated in FIG. 22A.

In steps S1205 through S1207, the management server 101 acquires thedisplay information corresponding to the transmission source from thecontent server 750, similar to the first embodiment.

In step S2305, the display control unit 706 of the management server 101sends a display request requesting to display the display informationacquired by the display information acquiring unit 707, to the displaydevice 105 b corresponding to the position of the transmission sourceidentified in step S2304. The display request includes, for example, theaddress information (IP address, etc.) of the display device 105 b andthe display information, etc.

In step S2306, the display control unit 742 of the display device 105 bcauses the display unit 606, etc., to display the display informationincluded in the display request, which is received from the managementserver 101 via the communicating unit 741.

By the above process, when the user 106 holding the information terminal104 enters the area B in FIG. 20, the display information (content)corresponding to the user 106 is displayed on the display device 105 b.Similarly, when the user 106 holding the information terminal 104 entersthe area C in FIG. 20, the display information corresponding to the user106 is displayed on the display device 105 c.

Note that in FIG. 20, the display devices 105 are laterally arrangedalong a single wall; however, the arrangement method is merely oneexample.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating another example of arrangements ofdisplay devices according to the fourth embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 24 is a top view of display devices 105 arranged onfour surfaces of a pillar 2401, etc. In the example of FIG. 24, it isassumed that the display device 105 (or the output device 2001 includedin the display device 105) having a display device ID “DP0001” isoutputting acoustic waves including the display device ID “DP0001”toward an area A. Similarly, the display devices 105 having the displaydevice IDs “DP0002”, “DP0003”, and “DP0004” are respectively outputtingacoustic waves including corresponding device IDs of the own devices,toward areas B, C, and D.

By the above arrangement, for example, when a transmission source movesaround the pillar 2401, display information corresponding to thetransmission source is sequentially displayed on the respective surfacesin line with the movement of the transmission source. Note that in thearrangement example of FIG. 24, similar to the first embedment, theoutput devices 102 may be installed on the ceiling, etc., in the areas Athrough D.

According to the information providing system 100 according to thepresent embodiment, for example, the equipment such as the plurality ofoutput devices 102 and the gateway 103, etc., of FIG. 1 can beeliminated. Furthermore, according to the information providing system100 according to the present embodiment, by using a portable displaydevice 105, display information according to the respective users aroundthe display device 105 can be easily provided.

Fifth Embodiment

In a fifth embodiment, a description is given of an example of a casewhere the information providing system 100 provides display informationto the transmission source based on information of the surroundings ofthe output device 102 acquired by the output device 102.

<Functional Configuration>

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a functional configuration of theinformation providing system 100 according to the fifth embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Similar to the first embodiment, the informationproviding system 100 according to the present embodiment includes themanagement server 101, the output device 102, the gateway 103, theinformation terminal 104, and the display device 105, etc. Note that itis assumed that in FIG. 25, the configurations of the gateway 103, theinformation terminal 104, the display device 105, and the content server750, etc., are the same as the functional configurations of FIG. 7.

(Functional Configuration of Output Device)

The output device 102 according to the present embodiment includes astate information sending unit 2501 and a detecting unit 2502, inaddition to the configuration of the output device 102 according to theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 7.

The state information sending unit 2501 reports state informationincluding information of the surroundings of the output device 102detected by the detecting unit 2502, to the management server 101 viathe wireless communicating unit 721 and the gateway 103. The stateinformation sending unit 2501 is realized by, for example, programs,etc., operating in the CPU 301 of FIG. 3.

The detecting unit 2502 is a unit for acquiring information (forexample, the temperature, the humidity, the brightness, whether there isa moving body, and the number of moving bodies, etc.) of thesurroundings of the output device 102. The detecting unit 2502 isrealized by, for example, the sensor unit 307 of FIG. 3 and programs,etc., operating in the CPU 301 of FIG. 3.

(Functional Configuration of Management Server)

The management server 101 according to the present embodiment includes astate information acquiring unit 2503 and a display informationgenerating unit 2504, etc., in addition to the configuration of themanagement server 101 according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7.

The state information acquiring unit 2503 acquires state informationfrom the output device 102, and stores the acquired information as stateinformation 2505 in the storage unit 708, etc.

The display information generating unit 2504 generates displayinformation based on the information (for example, the temperature, thebrightness, and the number of people, etc.) of the surroundings of theoutput device 102 included in the state information 2505 stored in thestorage unit 708, etc.

(Examples of State Information and Correspondence Information)

FIGS. 26A through 26C are diagrams illustrating examples of stateinformation and correspondence information according to the fifthembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26A illustrates an example of the state information 2505 that isstored in the storage unit 708, etc., by the state information acquiringunit 2503. In the example of FIG. 26A, the state information includesinformation such as “output device ID”, “position”, “temperature”,“brightness level”, and “crowd level”, etc.

The “output device ID” is the output device ID of the output device 102that has acquired the state information. The “position” is informationindicating the position where the output device 102, which has acquiredthe state information, is installed.

The “temperature”, “brightness level”, and “crowd level” are examples ofinformation of the surroundings of the output device 102 that isdetected by the detecting unit 2502 of the output device 102.

The “temperature” is information indicating the temperature of thesurroundings of the output device 102. The “brightness level” isinformation indicating the brightness of the surroundings of the outputdevice 102. For example, the “brightness level” indicates the brightnessof the surroundings in a stepwise manner, and as the brightnessincreases, the value of the “brightness level” increases. The “crowdlevel” is information indicating the crowd level (the number of movingbodies, etc.) of the area corresponding to the output device 102. Forexample, the “crowd level” indicates the crowd level of the areacorresponding to the output device 102 in a stepwise manner, and as thecrowd level increases, the value of the “crowd level” increases.

FIG. 26B is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondenceinformation 711 stored by the correspondence information managing unit704 of the management server 101. In the example of FIG. 26B, thecorrespondence information according to the present disclosure includesan item of “temperature” instead of “time” in the correspondenceinformation according to the first embodiment in FIG. 11B.

In the information providing system 100 according to the firstembodiment, for example, with respect to a transmission source executingan application of an application type “map” at the position “spot 2”,different display information items (contents) are provided according tothe “time”.

On the other hand, in the information providing system 100 according tothe present embodiment, for example, with respect to a transmissionsource executing an application of an application type “map” at theposition “spot 2”, different display information items are providedaccording to information (for example, the temperature) of thesurroundings of the output device 102. In the example of FIG. 26B, whenthe temperature is “less than 10 degrees”, for example, the informationproviding system 100 provides display information giving a warm feeling,such as “fireplace and wine” of the content ID “TID001”. On the otherhand, when the temperature is “higher than 25 degrees”, for example, theinformation providing system 100 provides display information giving acool feeling, such as “seaside and beer” of the content ID “TID003”.

Furthermore, as another example, the information providing system 100may provide the same display information by changing the color accordingto the “temperature”, such as a color giving a warm feeling or a colorgiving a cool feeling.

FIG. 26C is a diagram illustrating another example of the correspondenceinformation 711 stored by the correspondence information managing unit704 of the management server 101. In the example of FIG. 26C, thecorrespondence information according to the present disclosure includesthe same items as the items of the correspondence information accordingto the first embodiment in FIG. 11B; however, the “acquisitiondestination” is display information (display information 1 and 2, etc.),instead of a URL. In the example of FIG. 26C, the display information of“temperature of spot 2” of content ID “JID0002” is generated by thedisplay information generating unit 2504 the management server 101, andis stored as “display information 2” in the display information 712.Accordingly, the information providing system 100 according to thepresent embodiment is able to display the display information includinginformation of the surroundings of the output device 102 detected by theoutput device 102, on the display device 105 corresponding to thetransmission source.

<Process Flow>

FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram of an example of a process performed bythe information providing system 100 according to the fifth embedment ofthe present disclosure. Note that the basic processes are the same asthe processes according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12,and therefore the processes that are different from the processes of thefirst embodiment are mainly described.

In step S2701 and step S2702, the state information acquiring unit 2503of the management server 101 sends a request to acquire stateinformation to a plurality of output devices 102. The request to acquirestate information includes, for example, the output device IDs of therespective output devices 102.

In step S2703 and step S2704, the respective output devices 102, whichhave received the request to acquire state information, send the stateinformation including information of the surroundings of the own devicedetected by the detecting unit 2502, to the management server 101. Thestate information includes, for example, the output device ID of eachoutput device and the state information detected by the detecting unit2502, etc.

As described above, it is assumed that the state information acquiringunit 2503 acquires the state information from a plurality of outputdevices 102 included in the information providing system 100, forexample, at predetermined time intervals (for example, every fiveminutes, etc.)

In step S2705, the state information acquiring unit 2503 of themanagement server 101 stores the state information acquired from aplurality of output devices 102, in the storage unit 708.

In step S2706, the display information generating unit 2504 of themanagement server 101 generates the display information by using, forexample, the state information stored in the storage unit 708.

In step S2707, the signal outputting unit 722 of the output device 102 aoutputs acoustic waves including an output device ID.

In step S2708, the information extracting unit 733 of the informationterminal 104 extracts the output device ID included in the acousticwaves acquired from the output device 102 a by the signal acquiring unit732.

In step S2709, the identification information sending unit 734 of theinformation terminal 104 sends information of the transmission sourceincluding, for example, an application ID and the extracted outputdevice ID, to the management server 101.

In step S2710, the communicating unit 701 of the management server 101receives the information of the transmission source sent from theinformation terminal 104. Furthermore, the position informationidentifying unit 705 identifies the position of the transmission source,based on the received information and the position information 709stored by the position information managing unit 702.

In step S2711, the display information acquiring unit 707 selects thedisplay information corresponding to the information of the transmissionsource.

In step S2712, the display information acquiring unit 707 acquires thedisplay information corresponding to the information of the transmissionsource. For example, the display information acquiring unit 707 acquiresthe display information from the content server 750, based on thecorrespondence information illustrated in FIG. 26B. Alternatively, thedisplay information acquiring unit 707 acquires the display informationfrom the display information 712 in the storage unit 708, based on thecorrespondence information illustrated in FIG. 26C.

In step S2713, the display control unit 706 of the management server 101sends a display request including the display information acquired bythe display information acquiring unit 707, to the display device 105 acorresponding to the output device 102 a.

In step S2714, the display device 105 a that has received the displayrequest from the management server 101 causes, for example, the displayunit 606, etc., to display the display information included in thedisplay request.

As described above, according to the information providing system 100according to the present embodiment, the display information accordingto the information of the surroundings of the output device 102 can bedisplayed on the display device corresponding to the transmissionsource.

Other Embodiment

The system configurations according to the above embodiments areexamples; the information providing system 100 may have various systemconfigurations. For example, in the example of the system configurationof the information providing system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, there isa single gateway 103; however, the information providing system 100 mayinclude two or more gateways 103. Alternatively, the informationproviding system 100 may be able to enlarge the wireless area forcommunication between the plurality of output devise 102, by adoptingmultihop communication such as Zigbee, etc.

Furthermore, at least a part of the information such as the positioninformation 709, the registration information 710, and thecorrespondence information 711, etc., stored in the storage unit 708 ofthe management server 101 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be stored in anexternal server, etc.

<Overview>

As described above, an information processing apparatus (101) accordingto the present embodiment uses a display device (105) to provide displayinformation. The information processing apparatus (101) includes amanager (702) configured to store information relating to a position ofan output device (102) that outputs information relating to the outputdevice, and information relating to the display device (105)corresponding to the position; a receiver (701) configured to receiveinformation of a transmission source (104) and the information of theoutput device (102) acquired by the transmission source (104), from thetransmission source (104) capable of communicating with the informationprocessing apparatus (101); an identifier (705,) configured to identifya position of the transmission source (104) based on the receivedinformation; and a display controller (706) configured to control thedisplay device (105) corresponding to the position of the transmissionsource (104) to display the display information according to theinformation of the transmission source (104).

By the above configuration, it is possible to provide an informationproviding system (100) that uses a display device (105) to providedisplay information to a plurality of users, and that facilitates theoperation of providing the display information according to therespective users.

The above reference numerals in parenthesis are given as examples forfacilitating the understanding; however, the scope of the presentdisclosure is not so limited.

The information processing apparatus, the information providing method,and the information providing system are not limited to the specificembodiments described herein, and variations and modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device communicating with aninformation terminal and with a server apparatus, the display devicecomprising: an output device which outputs identification information ofthe output device on an acoustic wave; and processing circuitry whichcontrols the display device and performs steps of: controlling theoutput device to output the identification information of the outputdevice on the acoustic wave toward an area corresponding to the outputdevice; receiving, from the server apparatus, a display requestincluding at least content data, which corresponds to the informationterminal and which is to be displayed on the display device; anddisplaying the content data based on the display request, wherein theidentification information of the output device is received by theinformation terminal in the area, the identification information is sentfrom the information terminal to the server apparatus together withapplication identification information of an application that isinstalled in the information terminal, the identification information isused together with the application identification information, by theserver apparatus, to identify a position of the information terminal,and the identification information is used, by the server apparatus, toidentify the display device which provides information relating to theapplication in the information terminal whose position is identified. 2.The display device according to claim 1, wherein the content dataincluded in the display request corresponds to the position of theinformation terminal.
 3. The display device according to claim 1,wherein the content data included in the display request corresponds toa type of application software of the application installed in theinformation terminal.
 4. The display device according to claim 1,wherein the content data included in the display request changes withtime.
 5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the contentdata included in the display request corresponds to a type ofapplication software of the application installed in each of theinformation terminals.
 6. A non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium storing a program that causes a computer to execute a processperformed in a display device communicating with an information terminaland with a server apparatus, the process comprising: outputting, by anoutput device included in the display device, identification informationof the output device on an acoustic wave; controlling the output deviceto output the identification information of the output device on theacoustic wave toward an area corresponding to the output device;receiving, from the server apparatus, a display request including atleast content data, which corresponds to the information terminal andwhich is to be displayed on the display device; and displaying thecontent data based on the display request, wherein the identificationinformation of the output device is received by the information terminalin the area, the identification information is sent from the informationterminal to the server apparatus together with applicationidentification information of an application that is installed in theinformation terminal, the identification information is used togetherwith the application identification information, by the serverapparatus, to identify a position of the information terminal, and theidentification information is used, by the server apparatus, to identifythe display device which provides information relating to theapplication in the information terminal whose position is identified. 7.A display method executed by a computer performed in a display devicecommunicating with an information terminal and with a server apparatus,the display method comprising: outputting, by an output device includedin the display device, identification information of the output deviceon an acoustic wave; controlling the output device to output theidentification information of the output device on the acoustic wavetoward an area corresponding to the output device; receiving, from theserver apparatus, a display request including at least content data,which corresponds to the information terminal and which is to bedisplayed on the display device; and displaying the content data basedon the display request, wherein the identification information of theoutput device is received by the information terminal in the area, theidentification information is sent from the information terminal to theserver apparatus together with application identification information ofan application that is installed in the information terminal, theidentification information is used together with the applicationidentification information, by the server apparatus, to identify aposition of the information terminal, and the identification informationis used, by the server apparatus, to identify the display device whichprovides information relating to the application in the informationterminal whose position is identified.